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Rachel Cronin puts stage show on hold for Ed

Jan-Christian Sorensen se

News Reporter
Jsovensen@nsnews.com

A North Shore thespi-
an is taking a bite out
of the Big Apole.

Rachel Cronin has landed
a recurring role on NBC's
new one-hour primetime
series Ed.

The storyline revolves
around the title character, a
New York lawyer who —
atter the double whammy of
being fired and finding his wite in bed with
the mailman — leaves the big city and drops
anchor in his old hometown of Stuckeyville,
Ohio. He decides to buy the local bowling
alley, inheriting its trio of eccentric employ-
ees.

Cronin’s character, Shirley, makes up one
third of the tenpin triumvirate.

“They're kind of like a modern day three
stooges,” said Cronin. “They're all extreme-
ly eccentric in their own way.”

Think La Darryl and Darryl from
Newhart.

Ed is slated for a post-Olympics October
premiere on NBC, said Cronin. The Peacock
has positioned the show in a Sunday timeslot
between Dateline and NBC at the Movies.
The show will face some tough competition
in that time slot, however, going up against
Fox’s longtime Sunday roost-ruling lineup
bookended by The Simpsons and The X-Files.

Cronin, however, believes the premise is
fresh and the writing solid enough to secure
the show a permanent slot. She described it
as a Northern Exposure/Ally McBeal hybrid.

“It’s a really great script,” Cronin said.
“It was the best pilot I've read by far, and
Dve read a lot of those kinds of scripts.”

Bibech NaITisH COLL Mea

NBC has ordered 13
episodes of the fledgling
program.

Cronin’s call co New York
put on indefinite hiatus her
one-woman = stage show
titled “Different Drummer”,
in which she — performs
monologues by no less than
nine separate characters. She
had planned to premiere the
show at othe Vancouver
Fringe Festival, but said she
may vet find her ideal venue
in Gotham.

“I really want to be writ-
ing and doing my own work and that's one
of the reasons [I'm so happy to be in New
York. There are small theatres here where
you can put that kind of stuff on.”

She said she relishes the constant, hectic
pace of the city, despite her much more sub-
dued West Coast upbringing.

“There’s a lot of city,” said Cronin, who
has moved into Upper West Side digs. “I
went on a trip here four years ago and I just
fell in love with the city. [t is an adjustment
in terms of the pace. It’s a lot more laidback
in Vancouver, but I Jove the urgency here.”

Cronin also finished shooting a
Vancouver-based independent feature film
entitled Spook early fas: year. The film
involves a Vietnam veteran trying to expose
Canadian involvement in the Vietnam War
and the reporter who decides to tackle the
story. Spook is currently in postproduction.

Cronin split her time growing up in West
Vancouver, Point ‘Grey and North
Vancouver, where she attended Argyle
Secondary. She graduated in 1989 and fol-
lowed up with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree
at UBC.

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NORTH Shore native Rachel Cronin has landed a role on NBC’s new one-hour,
Sunday night series Ed, premiering this October.